Seem to be a few mechanical engineers on this board. I am also a mechanical engineer, only retired from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. I am a disabled veteran of the Cold War era ... a nuke got me, but it was only a 'flesh wound'. Here in Northern California I find life good ... plenty of shootin...

I'd go with my Marlin 1894C, in .357 magnum, simply because I can load it down to lighter weight rounds, for lighter game, all the way up to 30-30 level load, for bigger game.